The Night Of The Wolf, Season Of The Bat
by Drowned In The Black Lagoon
Summary: AU based on the web-series Carmilla. Laura, Danny (werewolf) and Carmilla interact and comingle, romances form and grow, relationships intermix and things get complicated. Does contain adult language, violence at times and sensuality.
1. October Winds

It was an unseasonably warm October night on campus as the tall redhead determinedly strode across an empty courtyard. No night classes nearby, she guessed - the half slivered moon gave a weak sheen of milky light as dead leaves skittered over the rough ground. Her faux fur boots crunched over twigs and brittle yellow and red shards of leaf, kicking them aside. She should definitely not have worn that damned scarf, she thought to herself, no matter how much she liked the purple and silver tones or the way she could wrap it nearly all the way about her long torso. Too fucking hot for it no matter how fashionable she might be. A brief echo gave her pause: was that a footstep behind her...? She turned around, eyes glinting in the dim moonlight - but of course no one was there. And why would there be? She shouldn't let the paranoia of her friends get to her. Jumping at shadows, the lot of them - but then she could forgive Laura most anything. It alarmed her a bit how quickly she'd 'fallen' for the girl. Play it cool, Lawrence, she told herself. You've got a few weeks before timing becomes an issue, just have to ask her out before then and let her know in advance you'll be 'out of town' for a couple days near mid-month.

Again, she heard the noises behind her. Definitely light footfalls accompanied by the crunching of leaves. Don't turn around, she thought, it's your imagination. She walked a little faster, heading for the mostly-darkened student center before her: the two central atrium windows black and looming over her like the sunken eyes of a corpse. What the fuck was she thinking that for, she chided herself. She was not usually prone to such bouts of morbidity. The noises behind her grew louder, and she dug into her pocket for the small can of pepper spray lurking behind her billfold. Move fast, she told herself, and take the would-be rapist or perv by surprise. She turned about suddenly and faced her pursuer, snarl on her lips: she was face-to-face with a startled, slight Asian girl with unwieldy glasses who promptly dropped her overpriced coffee on the hard stones of the courtyard. The young woman cursed Danny soundly and glared at her, ignoring the redhead's weak apologies. Just damn great, she thought to herself as the lass stormed off, staring daggers back at her. Her friends would have laughed their asses off if they just saw that. She jammed her hands in jeans pockets and turned to walk on and get inside before she did something else embarrassing, and so nearly walked straight into the pale woman who stood there watching her with dark eyes and a smirk on her lips.

"Out for a stroll in the moonlight, Danny? Don't you know that might not be...safe?"

Carmilla's deep eyes gleamed with amusement, the moon reflected in them distantly. Danny groaned inwardly. Just what she needed: Laura's snarky roommate seeing her make an ass of herself. The conspiracy theories her friend (well, more than friend, she hoped) kept floating about were totally ridiculous no matter how much LaFontaine backed her up, but she couldn't deny Carmilla sort of lived up to the 'hype' of being mysterious and sulky even if the thought of her being some kind of undead fiend was ludicrous.

"Oh come on, Carmilla. Drop the B-movie menacing bullshit. I'm sure Laura and the others clucking like hens can be annoying, but you don't need to encourage them. You're nice enough I am sure, just let them see that and don't sulk around so much like you're auditioning for Lesbian Vampire Hunters or some nonsense."

At those words, the dark-haired girl grinned wider and stepped closer to the taller woman standing over her. Danny regarded her calmly, but her heart beat a bit faster all the same - for all her snark and surly demeanor, there was something captivating and compelling about Carmilla. She shook strands of hair from her face and chuckled darkly, then gave the redhead's stomach a gentle poke, smiling up at her, standing nearly close enough to embrace her.

"You know, I like you, red, even if your choice in friends can be rather annoying. We should hang out sometime. I bet you get real interesting when you let your hair down, let yourself go wild, right? Later in the month maybe. I'll take you out one night and we can see what happens. Your little Laura is scared of me I think - but you're not. We can grab a bite to eat, raise some hell. Be a good time."

With that, Carmilla smirked and punched Danny in the shoulder lightly before starting to move off towards a nearby fountain and benches Perry claimed she liked to sit at for hours on certain nights. She wiggled her fingers at the red-haired lass and her usual smirk returned to her darkened lips as she departed, calling back to her:

"Think it over, Danny - you and me, might be some fun. I could use a girl around here more friendly to me, one who can understand where I'm coming from. Seems to me you need someone too, one who really gets you. Hold your leash, maybe, when the time comes, if you get too out of control. See you around, gingersnap."

The redhead knew she was flushed, her face must be bright red. Shame and anger at the woman's tone mingled inside her with stirrings of actual desire for the retreating woman. She tried not to stare at how the leather pants she wore outlined her rump, showing it off. How...why...? There was no way Carmilla could know about that. No one knew. But those pointed comments...was that woman actually what the others claimed...? Could she tell? Or was she just flirting with her to mess with her head, hinting at bondage or some crap? Danny bit her lower lip, freckles standing out slightly on her soft cheeks due to the redness there. Her condition was something she could never talk about and she always took the utmost care in concealing it, making sure she was safe when the time came. If Carmilla really was a vampire...

No, she scolded herself firmly. Stop that shit right now, Danny. You've never even met another like you. They must exist - she had not believed at first as a child when her mother told her of the condition, but it had hit her like a ton of bricks about age fourteen, and was undeniably real. But people like her must be insanely rare, and folk tales and faerie stories and horror movies got most of it wrong. But she was what she was...what if Carmilla was another species, more like her than a human...? And what if she really did know what Danny was, what happened to her? Had the girl actually been flirting with her, or just cruelly teasing her, as was her usual way...? The redhead took a deep breath and looked up at the moon, wispy clouds passing over it. Did she dare try and find out more, give in to Carmilla's teasing hints...?

She shook her head firmly to chase away those thoughts. What she was going to do right now was get her butt inside the student union, grab the flyers she was after, then go to her dorm room and crash and she could see Laura tomorrow and everything would seem normal again. At least, that was what she thought then...

The S.U. was deserted at that hour apart from a couple hipsters collapsed on a ratty couch, talking animatedly about something doubtlessly achingly hip and cliched. Danny located the stack of fliers for an upcoming social event that needed removing and scooped them up, located the nearest recycling bin and dumped them inside, then was on her way back to the dorm wing she occupied.

Up the creaking stairs she went as the front door slammed behind her in the night wind, making her jump briefly - she always avoided the rickety elevator on principal. No death trap that smelled like aged coffee grinds and Windex for her, thanks. Her room was fifth along on the left of the third floor corridor, and she was fumbling in her pocket for the keyring when she noticed the door stood slightly ajar. She paused, frowning. It was pitch black inside, but the door indeed was open just a bit, enough for a small cat to wend its' way inside maybe, but not much else. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she swallowed nervously. She tried to fight back the sudden panic and stop herself remembering all the absurd 'vampire' theories her friends had been banding about the past few weeks. She may not be normal herself, even, supernatural if you insisted on the word, but the idea of a no-shit nosferatu college student lurking around was just too much to be credible. Or at least, she tried to tell herself that. As she moved forward as if in a dream, slightly lightheaded, she heard a familiar creak inside the room - her bed shifting under someone's weight. There was someone inside her room. Waiting for her in the dark. What if it was Carmilla, her face blank and pale, spattered with blood, fangs poking over her full lower lip...? Worse still, what if it was Becky's corpse, Laura's lost roommate, lurking under the bed to grab her ankle and drag her under...?

Determined, Danny stepped forward and pushed open her door, keys held in hand pointing outwards between her fingers. A dark shape on her bed leaned forward and she caught her breath, steeling herself. She was ready to scream and attack when the sudden yellow beam of a flashlight illuminated the last face she was expecting.

"Surprise!", blurted out Laura, then she seemed to blush in the dim light coming from the hallway behind her stunned friend.

Danny froze in surprise, mouth hanging open. The girl was seated on her bed, legs folded under her, brown hair tucked behind her ears - and she was clad only in a pair of loose black shorts and a dark bra. What was going on here...? She moved towards the bed as if in a dream and absently thrust the door shut behind her and locked it as she went, staring down at the adorable young woman who was waiting for her (Laura now fidgeting softly, biting her lower lip). The redhead felt as if her legs gave out under her, and she was half-sprawled on the smaller girl then and before she knew what was happening, she was on top of Laura and kissing her hard, tasting her lips. The young woman seemed surprised by this contact for a few seconds, but then she was kissing Danny back and her thin arms wrapped themselves around the taller girl's waist to squeeze her close. All the thoughts and fears evaporated from Danny's mind as Laura began to touch her and nibble at her, pressing her down on the bed and straddling her, determinedly pinning down her wrists. The moon sank into the sky outside and the two girls barely noticed when the flashlight hit the floor with a hard smack, the light going out and leaving them in the darkness.


	2. Nighttime Secrets

Danny had never been with someone as intimately as she was with Laura in that seemingly neverending expanse of time: as they lay loosely snuggled under the somewhat scratchy comforter of her bed, the redhead's mind flashed on things they had just done. Laura's pink tongue sliding into her mouth, her own hands running down the smaller girl's sides and then grabbing her bare ass to squeeze, the chestnut-haired lass nibbling at her collarbone softly. She shivered gently as her mind wandered and her arms tightened around Laura's waist, her head cradled to Danny's neck, partly tucked under her chin. She felt the young woman looking at her before the silence was broken, Laura's hand idly stroking the soft curve of her tummy:

"So, um. Well. That happened, huh? Did you like it...? And, um. Do you have anything to eat? I kind of burned myself out there."

Danny chuckled at that last inclusion, tilted her girl's face back and kissed her warmly, lingeringly.

"Yeah, I loved it, Laura. You sure surprised me, I can tell you that - so, plan successful on your part? And yes, got some chocolate bars stashed, you can help yourself sweetie. I guess, also, well - thank you. For making my day a hell of a lot better. It was pretty weird for a bit there."

At those words, Laura burrowed anew into Danny's arms and wrapped arms around her. She snuggled close and rubbed her friend's shoulders as Danny grabbed a candy bar from a drawer of her bedside table and handed it over to the ravenous lass in her arms.

"Well, my pleasure then. I've been um...wanting you, for a while. You know, to be more intimate with you. So this was great once I got up my courage and just went for it, you know?"

The redhead smiled softly and kissed her then softly laying atop her: the two lay cuddled together for quite a while as they munched together on the candy bar (a Milky Way), until Laura had to disentangle herself and get dressed to head back to her own room (after, of course, giving Danny a lengthy wordless goodbye and saying she'd see her later on). She quietly unlocked the door and stole inside - all the lights were off. Maybe Carmilla was out still, or asleep. Lucky for her, she didn't want to have to answer a bunch of snarky queries as to where she had been directed at her from her weirdo roommate right then.

The young woman gently kicked off her shoes, crawled onto her bed and was preparing to burrow under her covers when the lamp by Carmilla's bed clicked on in a pool of yellow light. The girl was smirking at her, legs tucked under her chin and her dark eyes fixed on Laura.

"Well, we were out late, creampuff. Were you doing research some more, trying to come up with some new idiotic way to catch me? Mount a giant net off in the woods with some bait to snatch me up like in Return of the Jedi? You're about Ewok-sized, so I might not put it past you."

Laura groaned inwardly, rolled her eyes. Exactly what she didn't want to have happen, and here it was.

"Now that's not fair, Carmilla. I don't want to trap you, okay? I just want to get to sleep. I was...um. Out. With the girls. If you really must know. LaFontaine wanted to watch some old movie she dug up on VHS, some artsy thing. I kind of fell asleep so I gave up on it, and here I am."

The pale girl smirked even more and raised one shapely eyebrow, dark pools of her pupils watching Laura close in the dim light.

"Really? Sounds fascinating. Especially since I saw Perry the platypus and LaFontaine at the dining hall just a half hour ago, trying to pick what swill they were serving that looked the least offensively bad. You must have been invisible if you were with them - either that or you're a terrible liar, sweetie. I'll bet you were really just upstairs with your tall friend. She gives you the most moony, infatuated looks you know. Did you finally get up the nerve to approach her? How does she taste, huh...? I bet you didn't get naked all the way yet, no matter how much you've fallen for her. Did you make her howl at the moon, Laura, or did she just moan and whimper?"

Carmilla chuckled, her eyes sparkling, watching her roommate's obvious discomfort and how embarrassed Laura was getting: her cheeks bright red, and she was practically squirming on her bed, fingers clenching and unclenching. She finally managed to stammer a response.

"You...I, um. I was not. Nothing like that! I mean I was with Danny. She just wanted to talk. You know, we talked. About classes. Nothing...naked."

Even as she denied it, Laura looked even more flushed. Her cheeks and forehead burned and she tried hard not to picture the glimpses of Danny's bare skin, or the noises the tall girl had made when she had tentatively licked and bitten at her flesh. Why must she be stuck with this infernal nosy vampiric freak of a roommate?

"Oh, very well, as you insist", Carmilla responded in a bored tone. "I'll just ignore those love bites and suck marks on your arms then. You probably detoured through the nonexistent campus swamp and got attacked by leeches. Perfectly reasonable explanation, no funny business or rolling in the hay with young miss Lawrence there."

Laura was aghast, and she could feel her face burning. Emotion swirled inside her: protectiveness towards Danny, the unreality and good feelings of the time they had spent, and newly-found rage rearing its' head at the pale girl sitting opposite her.

"I...how dare you, Carmilla, I was not..she. We were...that's none of your damn business! Don't you have blood to suck or some church tower to haunt or something? Just leave me alone. Why the hell are you always so mean to me?"

The brown-haired girl took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Her heart was pounding fast and she felt about ready to explode. She turned away from the prying eyes of the other woman and hid her face in a pillow, facing the wall. She was not even aware that she was crying in frustration and anger for a few seconds.

Carmilla frowned at the girl's form, noting how her shoulders moved and hearing all too well the muffled sobs. Now you've done it, idiot, she thought harshly to herself. She knew she had a tendency to push people, test them, go straight for the jugular in speaking her mind - usually it benefitted her and helped accomplish her goals. She had misjudged her approach to Laura, clearly. And was she now feeling the smallest bit bad about it, even...?

The girl sniffled and curled up further close to the wall, her yellow pillow gripped in arms. She just felt so drained and angry, and that stupid other girl was watching her right now, of course. As she let out a deep sigh, Laura felt the last thing she expected: the gentle touch of fingers on her back, and a shift of weight on her bed. Carmilla was touching her, sitting with her. The hell...?

"Get off, Carmilla. Just...leave me alone, OK? You've done enough."

Her voice came out weak and tearful, and she cursed herself for being so weak. But the hand didn't leave: what's more, now the pale girl was lightly stroking her neck and upper back in small circles. A pause followed, and she could hear Carmilla clear her throat, obviously trying to find the right words before speaking.

"Listen, Laura. I'm sorry. I guess I'm used to getting my own way, pushing people. My methods - well, I've never been accused of being subtle. I like you. Way I grew up, for years, how I showed interest in girls was basically poking at them, sparring with them. Trying to get control. Always having the upper hand. With you, and Danny - I mean, given the circumstances. I suppose I've just been mean. Pushing at you, always coming back with the smartass comment. You can annoy me, yeah, but you're really beautiful and smart. I haven't met someone quite like you since 1923, if I am going to be totally honest with you. She was amazing, and special - just like you are."

Carmilla froze then: the fuck had she just said? Had she really just blurted out about meeting someone close to a hundred years ago? Worse still, had she told a relative stranger about Elle...? Way to be subtle about being undead, bonehead. She noticed of course that Laura tensed under her hand: clearly she had heard and understood precisely the words which had just escaped her lips. Slowly, the girl with the chestnut hair rolled over and stared up at her. Her eyes were wide and astonished, and quite a bit of fear showed in them: tears had dried up on her cheeks. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights of a fast-moving truck about to mow her down and fling her battered body into the night.

"So...you. You are a vampire, then. I knew it. I mean I thought you might be, but it's ridiculous. Did you kill Becky?"

Laura's voice was soft, frightened, but partly triumphant. She stared Carmilla full in the eyes and licked her lips. The pale girl shifted awkwardly on her bed: this was not good, and definitely not how she intended Laura find out about her, if she ever did.

"Are you going to kill me now, Carmilla? Break my neck, rip me open and drink my blood? Is that it? Or are you just fucking with my head more? You claim you like me - but you play these games with me? If you're what you say, you must be a monster, and you have to be responsible for girls disappearing here, right?"

The girl's voice was getting louder, gaining strength, and the young-looking vampire flinched back slightly against her will. Laura was pissed off, no matter the circumstances they were in - and she'd be doubly mad likely if her conviction about what Carmilla was turned out to be true, after the weeks of hints and odd behavior coupled with the girl daring to claim she had feelings for her human roommate. The ancient (but visibly unaged) girl knew she must tread very, very carefully now.

"I am not going to kill you, Laura. Or harm you at all. I admit that at times, I've wanted your blood. But I did not kill or steal your precious missing Becky, and I am not going to kill or harm you, or even Danny. I do like you...and I do want you. But yes, I am a vampire. I died in 1786, if you really have to know. I feed on girls. I can turn into mist or a bat. But you've seen me: I trip over my own feet going down stairs, I still own a Walkman and The Cure tapes and I eat cereal straight out of the box sometimes. I know I've really pissed you off, and scared you maybe - but I have to be honest with you here. If I don't, you can harm me, you know. Expose me, kill me. I could try and bewitch you, enslave you, hypnotize you and force you to drink from me but I am not going to do that. I am - was - human, like you. And I know things about what is going on here, about Danny even - you can trust her, don't worry - that you don't. I can protect you, and her. Please let me. You will learn more with time, I swear it."

With that, Carmilla fell silent, still lightly touching and stroking Laura's back and sides. The younger girl stared at her, astonished at that speech. Did she dare believe it? Or was this girl completely fucking insane? What should she do next, and what on earth did she mean about Danny having secrets she didn't know about, was she just trying to woo Laura for herself in some insane way...?

"You say you'll protect me, her, with some ancient vampire magic - that you are a vampire. You have been messing with me this whole time, making fun of me, yet you claim to like me now. Prove it then, Carmilla. Show me."

Laura's voice quivered slightly at that, staring into the girl's dark eyes. She was mere feet away now. Carmilla sighed deeply, but nodded and said not a word. She gently leaned in and cupped the smaller girl's cheek, face close, breathing in the scent of the human girl: lemon and dust and vanilla, blood pulsing in her veins and the scent of old books she had read, fruit from shampoo she used and the faintest hints of chocolate. Then she kissed Laura, slowly, tentatively: tasted her lips and slowly sucked them, giving in to her desire just a little. She cradled the girl's head and smiled when the lass moaned in response, licking at her lips with her cold, stubby tongue. At last the broke the kiss and one pale, elegant hand stroked Laura's chest. Fingers petted between her breasts softly and felt for her beating heart, warm and alive and forcing blood through her tender fragile body. She could damage the girl, she knew, if not careful. Break her bones, drink her life and savor her essence. It would all be too easy.

"I...you. Well okay then. That was something, I'll say. A year or so with no contact and now, bam, one day I've got two girls I never kissed before making out with me. Oh, and one says she is a vampire...which, nice as it was, kissing does not prove..."

There was a subtle challenge in her voice, and Laura looked nervous. Her own tongue stole out and wetted her soft lips, eyes locked on Carmilla.

"Very well, then, little Laura. Proof is needed for you - you'll get it. I must ask you not to scream, though."

At those final words, Carmilla's husky voice showed a faint tinge of amusement mixed in with seriousness, and sides of her mouth quirked briefly. She shut her dark eyes and concentrated, well aware of the scrutiny and reverent silence the smaller girl was gazing at her with. And then, without warning, she began to change before Laura's eyes. The younger girl shuddered and bit down hard on her lip, remembering the vampire's admonition. She dared not disobey her in case the creature before her recalled such and sought to punish her. As she watched, she knew she'd been wrong to doubt and so blatantly and flippantly follow Carmilla, question her, mock her behind her back.

The seemingly-normal woman's face shrunk and distorted, her black hair lengthening. Her lips shriveled and vanished, showing hard white teeth that lengthened into cruel hooked fangs. Her clothes ripped away as dark hair sprouted over her body. Limbs twisted and cracked as if the joints and bones inside were breaking. Claws grew from her fingertips. Gone was anything that looked remotely human: glittering small eyes glared at Laura from a pinched and nasty batlike face covered in dark fur and outstretched leathery wings curled about the hairy form. She even noted that whatever this thing was Carmilla turned into, it was naked: heavy breasts hung down and the bared belly was slightly swollen. The creature made small chittering noises and studied her with seeming intelligence. Laura shuddered in fear: this was real, it was really happening. Her roommate - the girl who had just kissed her - was a monster.

All the determination and calmness leaked out of her and she did precisely what Carmilla had warned her against: she shrieked in terror and pushed away, panicking, hands outstretched to ward off the hideous female bat-creature looming over her. She knew she was losing control and she had better stop. All control was lost, however, and she screamed again and felt the hot talons of fear digging into her brain. All her muscles ached and her eyes felt ready to burst from her skull. The next thing she knew, she was sliding down into blackness and the last impression she had was the monster shifting again, becoming pale, and moving towards her. A voice echoed as if from far away, like she was underwater and someone distant was calling her:

"Laura? Laura? Oh shit." 


	3. The Trap Of Desire

Laura's head ached and throbbed - where was she? She felt softness underneath her and something covering her. There was noise intruding - voices? But everything was dark. What was going on? She remembered something about a horrible monstrous face peering at her. Then it came back with a jolt and her eyes flew open: Carmilla. The transformation. She was in deep shit here: she had passed out, hadn't she? The vampire still had her in her clutches. As soon as her eyes were open, harsh yellow light flooded in and blinded her. She could only make out fuzzy shapes, but it was her dorm room, all right. Figures were standing over her, two of them - but that couldn't be right. Had her damned monster of a roommate summoned someone else to help eat her?

"I'm not scared of you, batsy!", Laura heard herself declare, her voice quavering. "You let me go right fucking now, or I'll whomp your ass!".

She tried to stand up and push herself out of her bed (that was where she was laying, she had figured out), but her legs gave out from under her weakly and her head swam. She gave out a startled, distressed cry as she hit the floor. Totally useless, nice job, Hollis, she told herself bitterly. Now you'll be a vampire snack for sure. Just as she was thinking that, gentle hands touched her shoulders and the last voice she expected to hear sounded in her ears:

"Easy now, honey. It's okay. You are safe. I heard you from upstairs and well - I ran, you know? Hauled ass. I'm here with you and won't let anything hurt you. Carmilla told me everything."

Laura was stunned and confused. She gazed upwards, trying to make sense of what was happening. Danny? Was that really the tall woman saying such things? How could she pair the phrases that everything was okay and that Carmilla had told her what happened...? But it was her friend, there was no denying that: the redhead's face was peering down at her, caring and concerned. Things were a little fuzzy still vision-wise. Danny lightly helped her to her feet, supporting her waist. There, lurking behind her against the wall by the sink, was the cause of this damned mess.

Carmilla looked actively concerned and abashed, to her credit. Her face was down, and she stole glances at the two girls through her dark hair. Laura felt a wave of unreality wash over her. Could that really have happened, the way the lass had turned into that nightmarish bat monster...? She glanced at Danny.

"How...how can you be so calm? You say she told you what she did? You know what she is? She'll kill us, Danny! Please. Please get me out of here. Don't let her get me!"

With that, she pointed harshly at Carmilla. The girl seemed to shrink in on herself more and let out a resigned sigh before speaking.

"I...well, I am sorry I traumatized you, creampuff. You said you wanted proof and I acted impulsively. And clearly I should have expected I might well scare the living crap out of you. I am a vampire, like it or not. But you both are in a lot of danger here. I told you when I was born, when I was...well, turned. But there's more to it than that. Just believe me when I say there are worse things out there than me on this very campus. I didn't kill any of those girls, I didn't kidnap them. But the one who did. She is here. She's waiting. Call her my...overseer, I guess? And I don't want her to have either of you. You may be idiots, but I can't stand the thought of anything happening to you. So I have to stick around and watch over you two little mortals so you don't get sucked dry or taken off to the vampire larder. My m...the overseer. She won't fuck around. And you have to ask Danny to explain more, but she can help protect you also. It's not my place to say why."

Laura listened closely, frowning. She did not like what she was hearing at all. And what was this secret about Danny...? She glanced at the tall girl and was rather alarmed at the stormy look on her usually grinning face. She was glaring hard at Carmilla, eyes like icy daggers. Then it hit the younger girl like a ton of bricks: Danny must know that she and Carmilla had kissed. Her stomach plummeted. How could she have been so stupid? She felt like she was going to puke out her guts. The beautiful taller girl had finally been within her grasp, and then that stupid vampire had to go and make herself vulnerable, open to her, put the moves on her...and worse still, part of Laura even now wanted Carmilla, too. She wanted her and Danny both. What a fucking mess this was. Come to think of it, she didn't much care for the familiar language the vampire had used about Danny either.

"I...well, thank you, I suppose, Carmilla. If all that is true. About wanting to protect us. I'll try not to get in your way or cause problems. Danny and I need to go talk, I think, now. But we'll come back. We'll be ok, won't we...?"

At this last, Laura glanced up at the taller girl and touched her hand softly. Danny did not pull away, but her voice was cold as she looked to Carmilla, letting her friend guide her from the room.

"Yes, we will be fine. Together. And I'll bring Laura back safe and sound, and be watching over her. You can count on that."

Carmilla visibly winced at the anger in her tone, but met the redhead's gaze as they passed. What a royal calamity this all was turning into. She better make sure those two naive dunderheads stayed safe: she had to make it so. Her insides were churning and roiling with unfamiliar feeling. She wanted both of them, if she was honest with herself. Not even to feed on. But to love. To make a family, to possess them and keep them safe and warm, both the adorably feisty small human and the more aloof tall redheaded werewolf. She laughed bitterly to herself as the door closed: what a twisted specimen she was. She merely offered a silent wish to the stars above that all would work in her favor. They would be safe together. They had to be.

Out on the deserted campus, Danny was striding fast, leading Laura away from the dorm building at an abrupt pace. Laura twisted her hands nervously and followed along. She was convinced her dear friend was furious at her, besides their vampiric 'protector'. She had been so certain things were going well. The shorter girl fretfully gnawed her lower lip. She'd talk Danny back around, that's all there was to it. They'd be ok.

At last the redhead's pace slowed and she led her friend into a small alcove, tucked away behind the library. There was a stone bench just big enough for two, and Danny scooted over when she sat. Laura breathed a sigh of relief when the girl opened her arms and gratefully sat down, wiggled into her grip. Then she merely waited for when her companion was ready to speak. Danny took a deep breath.

"Listen, Laura. All this with Carmilla...yeah, I'm furious at her. What she did. Not even any of this vampire shit. But you kissed her, or she made the moves on you, or whatever. I want you, and I think you want me. I am upset about this plainly but I have to think you were not in your right mind when you did that. And undead or no, if she tries to take you, I will kick her ass into next week. Even with all this though, she is right, if bad times are coming. She knows, well. She knows certain things about me which I never thought anyone would. And now because of this situation, I have to tell you and you may well think I am insane and telling you wild stories. Or worse, that I am just as bad as her. I am terrified here, Laur. I can't lose you, not over this. Not when we finally - well, got together. Took things to the next level."

Laura paid close attention to the tall lass, holding her hands soft, until she paused.

"So, OK, I mean of course I understand you being mad. But what is the big secret...? Seriously. Are you..like her? You can't be, can you? A vampire? I've seen you out in the daylight, and you eat garlic bread. If that shit even is real, that vampires can't deal with that. So what are you, Danny...? What is she talking about?"

The redhead took a deep breath anew. She looked troubled and nervous, and instinctively squeezed Laura's hands tighter.

"Please, please Laur - don't be scared of me. I've never harmed anyone. And this will sound totally ridiculous. But you've known me less than a month - and I'm not bringing this up to discount our mutual feelings or our relationship, saying you don't know me enough. But if you'd been around prior to that, you might have an idea of what I am about to say. I have to go away for a few days each month - two, or three. The full moon."

Danny laughed bitterly then, and Laura's eyes widened. Was she being serious now...? This had to be a joke. Was LaFontaine going to dramatically reveal she grew up in the basement of a theater in Paris next? She shook her head. This shit was just too much.

"Yeah, I can see you get where I'm going. The whole deal. Loss of control, excessive hair and shedding, desire to hunt, howling at the moon. I was bit when I was a kid - and nothing like the movies. We were on vacation in the Badlands, my parents and I, having this hike at night. They said it was a rabid dog. Fish and Wildlife agents found it and destroyed the corpse. I had nightmares about it for months, running, the howling in the distance. It jumped out of the bushes and attacked, my mother had a walking stick with a pointed end and she went nuts, whacked it and stabbed it, scared it off. I had small changes only at first on a monthly basis: cravings for raw meat, increased anxiety on days the moon was full. I thought I was going crazy. I heard thoughts in my head, voices, like the wolf. I heard thoughts in my head, voices, like the wolf. It sounded like a woman. Telling me to hunt, to change. High school was a nightmare most months. The first time I changed - it was awful. Like my bones were breaking and my body twisting from the inside. I barely remember what happened but I know my parents had kind of been ready. They shoved me down into the basement and barred the door. I felt insane. Scratching at the stone walls, screaming, or howling. I was so hungry. They left raw meat for me while I was asleep, and I gnawed at it like an animal. Ripped it apart.

I ended up later finding this old bomb shelter in the woods and got a heavy chain and lock. It had two doors, inner and outer...I'd chain the outer one shut and leave the key in a fake rock near it, a thing I wouldn't have the logic to find as a wolf. I was terrified I would get out one night and kill some one, devour them. I wanted to eat girls sometimes: attack them, rip them apart. And not even near the cycle when the moon was rising."

Laura gulped nervously, watching her friend. OK, a werewolf. She could deal with this. Her girlfriend (please, please, let her be that, she thought) turned into a wolf. Her roommate was the undead and had admitted wanting to taste her blood. It was fine. Trust the two of them. Nevermind they are monsters. Keep it cool, Hollis. And Becky was still missing, girls had disappeared here. They'd been vanishing for years. Things were totally A-OK. Hunky dory. Her breathing came fast and hard and she clenched and unclenched her fists. She was keenly aware of Danny staring at her. Say something, she told herself firmly. She knew she must look a mess. Talk to the girl, damn it. She took a slow, calming breath and mustered her thoughts. She could handle this. She opened her mouth to ask Danny if she still wanted her, if they'd be safe, and then she burst into tears for the second time that night.

Eventually the taller girl managed to calm Laura down: she cradled her in arms, stroking her hair. Laura clung to her desperately as if she was a life-raft on a stormy sea. Her tears subsided slowly.

"I'm sorry D. I really am. I just...this is real..? You really are...well, you become that? You and Carmilla didn't come up with all this just to fuck with me, torture the new girl?"

Laura managed to splutter that out, and Danny was concerned and hurt to see the worry in her friend's eyes. How difficult all this was, and that damned vamp making it worse. She fetched a sigh and stroked Laura's neck.

"No, I am afraid it's true, honey. But I promise you I will never ever hurt you. I'll watch over you, protect you. You and me together, right? And weird as it is, I kind of trust Carmilla. She had hinted before she um...knew about me. She offered on her own to help me, and help you. To watch over us. I don't know her full story but she seems genuinely to care for us. If she tries to put the moves on you, that is not OK, but I don't know we have anyone better suited to be on our side if she is even a little right about there being greater dangers beyond her. We'll have to all look out for Perry and LaFontaine, too. I don't know if they can handle all this..."

Laura merely nodded. Her head was swimming. Danny, a werewolf? Why couldn't her college experience just be normal?

"Well, I suppose then. I just gotta deal with this. I mean, I love you Danny, you know? Or I want to have a chance to. I wanna be yours. And this might well royally fuck it up but I thought we had something, I like you. I really really do. So I am going to trust you on this one. But the instant you start sniffing at me like I am a piece of meat, or looking at me like a pile of cold cuts on legs or I think you're dangerous - I just, that's it, you know? I really don't want it to come to that. This is pretty messed up. I hope you're right: that all this works out and we can be safe. That I am right to trust you and take your word. I won't just ditch you...but I am going to be watching. I am sorry if that's rude, but this is I think a situation we have to be very careful with..."

Danny nodded slowly, slightly stung inside. She could not let that show, however, as her love had every right to proceed cautiously and be nervous about all this information. She walked the girl back slowly to their dorm wing, senses alert: scanning the dark and breezy courtyard. Her ears perked up at even the slightest noise. She didn't much like essentially delivering Laura back into the care of Carmilla, when she didn't know the girl's entire story or motives, but not sure she had a choice either. She had a sinking feeling the three of them were going to have to bond a lot more closely and interconnect, stay together. How delightful that would be, the sardonic thought drifted across her brain and she smirked. Inside they went and upstairs to Laura's room. Carmilla was waiting, and gratefully embraced Laura when she saw them enter, then her, standing on her tiptoes to lace arms about the redhead's neck. For once, the sulky girl was genuinely smiling at seeing them back. Danny could not help but be the slightest bit absurdly touched by that even with all her misgivings.

The door clicked shut and she could hear the locks being bolted behind her as she walked away. Laura would be safe, she told herself. The vampiric young woman had told her another secret while the girl had been passed out, that Laura was not yet privy to: she drank regularly of a synthetic blood substitute from a local lab, that she told them was for 'testing' in biology experiments involving curing blood-borne illness. It was safe and formulated to be free of pathogen, and it meant Carmilla didn't need live human victims. She had even shown Danny her supply. So that was one thing she supposed she needn't worry of. She plodded up the creaking stairs to her door (firmly closed and locked this time, thankfully) and unlocked it. When she switched on the lights, she frowned: there was a simple package in brown paper lying on her bed. It was rectangular and shallow, like a box a necklace might come in, and tied with black velvety ribbon. Her frown deepened. She picked it up cautiously and shook it by her ear: a slight sliding noise and light thump resulted.

Carefully, she unwrapped the box: plain black and unremarkable, very flat. Her shaking fingertips removed the top and she felt her heart plummet as she stared at the two items inside. How dare that little vamp...ugh. They were going to have words about this.

Laying inside the box on a bed of cotton was a simple collar, black, with silver metallic pieces. The tag affixed to the front read simply 'Gingersnap'. Accompanying it was a note in a spiky, old-fashioned hand on a creamy piece of paper.

"For you, Danny. I want the three of us to be together. I hope you can trust me - I trust you. I know you'd never harm Laura, and neither would I. You do not have to wear it, and was cruel of me to taunt you as far as being my pet - but I have to be honest here and tell you I do want you. I want you and her both. That may be filthy of me, indecent, I realize, to desire you both, given how clearly you two have feelings for each other. But it is how I feel. Just consider it.

Love,  
>C."<p>

Danny groaned. Stupid lesbian vampire. Why did she have to be so strangely, absurdly endearing with her bullshit...?


End file.
